News from the Friends of Pickerings Pasture. Remember to click on photo to enlarge it.

A start has been made by the council on planting up our Cornfield Meadow. The tractor was busy harrowing the ground on Monday 10th April. The seeds will be planted soon and with the Spring rain and some sunshine should start to show shortly afterwards.

The Friends of Pickerings Pasture have received many enquiries about the work being carried out at the start of the path towards the white bridge. We have made our feelings (and those of you who are upset by it) clear to Halton Council and hope to have a meeting with their conservation officer to discuss the matter soon.

Most of the woodland areas have been neglected in the past few years, so work needs to be done

Looking at the photos you can see how thick and overgrown it has become. It needs thinning.

But we think that the amount removed in one go is too much: although some of it will re-sprout.

This area, with some shrubs left, is much more acceptable to most of us.

The wood chipping were a good idea but initially were too thick to allow wild flowers to break through.

We know a number of people physically removed some to let the flowers emerge.

We were given to understand that the council were going to continue right to the end by the white bridge but at present the work seems to have stopped. As the breeding season approaches we hope that this is the case. They have already removed some under-storey; shrubs, like the alder buckthorn, planted two years ago for the brimstone butterflies! Some birds, such as wrens, robins and chiffchaffs hide their nests on the ground or in the lo undergrowth. We would like to see the work recommence after the breeding season, in smaller patches leaving some thicker areas for another year. We also hope that more care is taken to leave beneficial shrubs and to plant more variety in the cleared areas.

A very disturbing incident was reported in the Liverpool Echo tonight (21/2/18).​ It alleges that dog biscuits laced with nails have been left on the grass at Pickerings Pastures. Please make other people aware of this potential hazard and we would advise you to keep your dogs on a lead for the time being. For further information follow this link:-https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/killer-dog-biscuits-laced-nails-14317763#ICID=sharebar_whatsapp​​Later in the week it was also reported on Granada Reports and it added that the police were investigating this incident. Let's hope it was a one-off.

POLICE PRESENCE AT PICKERINGS PASTURE

There was a large police presence at Pickerings Pasture on Sunday 18th February. They were mainly PCSO's, including our local PCSO Steve Marnick. Everyone was welcome to chat about their particular issues but most just passed the time of day.There were plenty of leaflets on offer giving advice on a wide range of subjects from home security to alcohol abuse. ​

There have been a number of car thefts in the Hale and Halebank area, recently, and the PCSO's have put up some warning notices at Pickerings Pasture. Better safe than sorry!

Due to an incident we ask you to keep an eye out for men hunting both with dogs and guns. These men are hunting on United Utilities land and other fields adjacent to Pickerings Pasture. Not only is this illegal but they have also abused people and even threatened them.​The police can only prosecute if they are "caught in the act", so please act immediately by calling the police on 101 or 999 if using guns.Thank you